Rape appeal: Man, 71, says cops forced statement

The Court of Appeal heard a case yesterday involving a 71-year-old man who was found guilty of sexually harassing an underage girl in September.

On January 24, Chey Torng was allegedly caught by a mother raping her 5-year-old daughter in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district, a prosecutor said.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Torng guilty on September 4 but amended his charge to sexual harassment. He was made to pay nearly $2,500 in compensation.

Torng, however, appealed the verdict, saying that it was based on fake evidence that police forced him to admit to.

“Those answers are not real, they twisted me,” he said. “While the police arrested me, they said that if you want to be free, you need to spend $20,000 or else you have to go to jail.”

But prosecutor Hean Rith said the medical exam result proved that the sexual act took place and that the victim’s account is consistent with the suspect’s previous answers at the police station.

After an hour-long hearing, presiding judge Chay Chandaravan said that the verdict will be handed down on Thursday.